Examining Campus Anxiety and Depression

Many students begin their postsecondary careers not even considering that they may end up facing university anxiety and depression.

What causes university anxiety and depression?

Someone who has had the good fortune of stellar mental health throughout their high school years may find themselves, at some point, overwhelmed by the university experience, and wondering what they’ve done wrong. It’s not that you’ve done anything wrong, or that you have all of a sudden become hardwired for depression and anxiety. It’s that high amounts of stress, and for many, unprecedented amounts of stress, can end up leading to depressive and anxious symptoms. Below are some facts and considerations to keep in mind about depression and anxiety while at college and university.

Poor mental health on campus is often a direct result of elevated stress

A 2017 article published in the Annals of Psychiatry and Mental Health entitled “Chronic Stress Leads to Anxiety and Depression” really hits the nail on the head when it comes to the link between elevated stress and these two mental health issues. Stress activates the release of the neurochemical cortisol, which has a direct impact on your mood.

Think of it this way: most people, especially those who have had the good fortune of being brought up in a stable household, in a comfortable environment, with all of their basic needs met and provided for, enter college or university for the first time, they don’t know what it means to be stressed by a work-life balance. This is not to say that pre-college extracurricular, and personal demands don’t create conflicts and dilemmas that bring about stress; rather that there is a much more palpable ‘sink or swim’ atmosphere at postsecondary institutions.

You are expected to handle yourself like a fully functional, fully capable adult, which means dealing with adult stress. Not having enough time to meet competing personal, scholastic, and work obligations can make one’s situation feel unfair, hopeless, and even desperate. There are campus health clinics and psychologists who are around to talk and help you deal with the stress of university life, and it is highly recommended that you take advantage of such services. Talking things out can improve a situation immeasurably.

The lack of familiarity can be unsettling

This is especially applicable to those students who have chosen to attend college or university in another town, state, province, and even country. No matter what age, or stage you are at in life, there is always something unsettling about picking up and moving to a strange new environment, even more so when you don’t have a social support network in place before you go. During that first night in a new apartment, or new dorm room, in a completely new city, the gravity of what you are undertaking for the sake of your intellectual development and your future can suddenly come crashing down on you.

For some students, the persistent feeling of homesickness, which is typically a much different psychological phenomenon than full-on depression, can turn into depression. University anxiety and depression can also be exacerbated by feelings of homesickness and a lack of the familiar and comforting feelings from the new environment. Homesickness can interfere with your ability to learn, make friends, join clubs, and partake in all of the edifying experiences that should be part and parcel of a university education. Depression can end up intensifying feelings of homesickness, which in turn intensify feelings of depression in an unpleasant cycle.

Uncertain futures

Even if the university experience is going swimmingly, and all of the pieces are falling into place to make it a life-affirming and memorable one, trying to make one’s way in the world amidst so much chaos and uncertainty is daunting. Out of control housing markets, mountains of student debt, bleak job prospects, climate catastrophe, and the emptiness of a life spent largely online can make it seem like university anxiety and depression are well justified.

One comforting fact about university, however, is that you are being given an opportunity to indulge in intellectual pursuits for four straight years. This is something that, once you eventually make your way out into the non-academic world, start your career, or start a family, you will likely long for. Don’t despair at an intimidating world: build your mind, build your social network, expand your interests, and depression and anxiety can be tamed much more easily.

Don’t forget about essay writing services

There will be times throughout your postsecondary career when coursework seems either impossible, or just too painful to undertake. A late night restaurant shift might make last-minute studying for a mid-term exam, or finishing up a term paper impossible, and feelings of homesickness and being adrift in a callous world can make heading to the library to start that book report seem like climbing Mount Everest. That’s why it pays to have a professional, compassionate, and dedicated essay writing service in your contact list to help when times are tough.

Companies like Homework Help Global have assisted thousands of students from all over the world who have required a helping hand. Whether it’s a book report, midterm or final exam, research paper, powerpoint presentation, resume writing, application letter, argumentative essay, or anything in between, there are a wide range of services out there to help you get a great mark on a custom, wholly original essay when time and motivation are in short supply.

The university experience is, in a sense, designed to help build character. The highs and lows of your time spent at college and university do prepare you for the unpredictability (often cruel unpredictability) of the larger world. You will learn what it feels like to try and juggle and unmanageable number of balls at the same time; what it means to have to sacrifice one aspect of your life for another, and what it means to be under a time crunch and have to improvise and test your limits to hand in a paper, or finish an exam on time. Contact Homework Help Global when university anxiety and depression are getting in the way of your coursework and academic writing, and let one of our expert, seasoned writers help alleviate some of the stress of campus life.

References:

(2015). “Depression and Homesickness Among College Students.” Family Guidance Centre. Retrieved from: http://familyguidance.org/depression-and-homesickness-among-college-students/